The Flame Game

by R. J. Blain

  “That seems simple enough to me. Gorgons aren’t protected by most of the human laws. They’re considered second-rate citizens and have very specific ways they have to behave. They’re executed if they don’t follow those rules,” I replied. “But if there are sufficient gorgons mass petrifying people, those laws would go second to the recovery of petrified citizens. However, if the infection rate is as high as what Audrey was hoping for, Morrison would be in a position to eliminate most Manhattan law enforcement, yourself included, as the grade of gorgons produced would not qualify to serve in any policing roles. The plan falls apart because of your rating and base genetics, which Audrey didn’t know about.”

  “Right, because all of my official documentation lists human as my primary species, which is true.”

  “I’m listed as a cindercorn. Why is that allowed but gorgons aren’t?”

  “Probably for the same reason centaurs are allowed. Centaurs with the appropriate magical rating can serve as police chiefs, as they are not considered to be unfairly matched to humans. Gorgons have a lot of dangerous defenses, and despite their sometimes human behaviors and appearances, they are not humans. Centaurs look human enough despite their bodies being that of animals—and genetically, they are usually a majority of human genetics. Gorgons have no human genetics unless you’re a mix like I am.”

  Oh. Huh. “Gorgons really don’t have human genetics?”

  “They don’t have any human genetics. They just resemble humans. And yes, I will be having Beauty and Sylvester DNA tested. We don’t know if being live birthed changed their genetics. They’ll have legal protections if they have any human DNA instead of pure gorgon. It’s not much extra protection, but even a single percent will make trafficking them a felony.”

  “It’s not a felony to traffic gorgons?”

  “No. It’s a borderline misdemeanor. If someone were to be found guilty of three charges of trafficking a gorgon, then it would classify as a felony. Should the gorgon be a mix with any human genetics, it is treated as human trafficking, which is a felony.”

  I scowled, and I couldn’t help but wonder if men like Morrison had been responsible for those shitty laws. “That absolutely fucking disgusts me.”

  “I know, I know. It’s not fair. We have to pick our battles, Bailey. So, what we call the flame game in our precinct is a fairly simple concept to understand but rather difficult to execute. We typically work this angle with large-scale operations against crime lords and gangs. The idea is to make a multi-pronged attack to burn the culprits out. Stage one is to discredit the group in the eyes of the public. This gives law enforcement more room to work, as it’s easier to do our job when the public isn’t upset with us. In the case of Morrison, we need to thoroughly discredit him. Once we have connections established to 120 Wall Street and his various other ploys, that phase of the flame game will be remarkably simple. The next phase is to burn his current operations and discredit him through his past operations—and make certain those plans are thoroughly burned. Once again, this has to be done in such a way that the public sympathizes with law enforcement. Morrison was not disliked in his home turf, so we will need to work the Hamptons fairly hard, especially if we end up saddled with helping to handle Long Island in addition to Manhattan.”

  “That’s too much work, Sam. Nobody can handle that much jurisdiction sanely.” Quinn could barely handle his work with Manhattan as it was.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re able to see that with such clarity. What it would really mean is that instead of Manhattan, Long Island, and Staten Island working with independent chiefs, we’d ultimately work more jointly, in that the established chiefs would have connected jurisdiction. It’s something we’ve talked about for a while but haven’t implemented. Losing Morrison would put us short some chiefs, and this would let us better work the whole territory. That way, we could get a chopper to take us to anywhere in the general New York City and surrounding areas without having to do the dance we do now. If we burn Morrison sufficiently, we might be able to get that passed. Commissioner Dowry has been discussing it with the other commissioners to see if it’s plausible. We’d probably become the voice for most of the New York City region. They like having me handle public announcements.”

  “Well, your ridiculous sexiness has something to do with that. Plus when you talk, it usually makes sense. Or maybe it doesn’t make sense, but you’re talking, so who cares if it makes sense? You have to be careful about that smile though, sir. That smile incinerates panties. Mine, for the record.”

  He grinned at me. “I’m aware.”

  Evil, evil gorgon-incubus doohickey. “Please tell me one of the phases of the flame game is to burn Morrison literally.”

  “Ideally, for my peace of mind, yes. It depends on if he violates his restraining order. If he does, you absolutely are within your rights to burn him. I’d also be within my rights to deal with him. However, I would likely go with petrification and allow the flame game to play out to its full extent.”

  “But he might do more harm if he lives.”

  “Bailey, I give his lifespan no longer than a week if he’s sent to prison. He’s responsible for the deaths of children. There is an angelic confirmation of sexual assault of a minor. While the worst of the worst end up in prison rather than out doing community service, they have limits. That? That crosses their lines. The instant he’s put into general holding, he’ll be dealt with. If he happens to be put in the same prison with those he’s put away? It won’t end well for him. Frankly, it would be more merciful if you used your biggest fire on him. That leads to the next job.”

  “Wait, there’s more?”

  “We do our best to set it up where nobody wants to try that sort of scheme again.”

  For fuck’s sake. “You seriously think someone might copycat him?”

  “Audrey and Morrison couldn’t have been working alone. That bed and breakfast is good evidence of that. Whoever was running that place was aware of it. I suspect whoever ran the place we’re going to next was also aware of it, depending on what we find. For all I know, Audrey really could have just been heading up there for a tryst. But after seeing the other place? I doubt it.”

  I did, too. “Do you think the CDC is looking into the previous owners of that bed and breakfast?”

  “Oh, I know they are. They were already working on the investigation at the site. Having a liaison there was not a mistake. The FBI is getting involved, too.”

  “Because the incidents crossed state lines?”

  “It’s being flagged a terrorism event.”

  “Terrorism?”

  “Gorgons may not be humans, but they’re sentients, and while the law often does not favor them, the species lines were blurred, and this rabies outbreak is terrorizing gorgons. So, it’s the FBI’s jurisdiction, and they’re working with the CDC. They’ll work with us, too. This is the kind of case everyone wants closed as quickly as possible. They know people are dying, and if it goes unchecked, more people are going to die. I suspect they’ll focus on the infected feeder mice to start with, while the interior staff does the groundwork on the bed and breakfast. Ideally, we’ll direct the CDC over. Fortunately, it’s easy to prove I wasn’t involved with any of these.”

  “You worked seven days a week most weeks of the year.” I’d guessed that much from looking over his papers and receipts. “You couldn’t have been involved because you were in Manhattan working all of the time.”

  “That plus angelic verification, which I did after your apartment was bombed and the 120 Wall Street incident.”

  “Wait. You angelically verified that? But why?”

  “I am an overbearing police chief who had a crush on you, and I am considered ruthless enough to napalm my future wife’s apartment in a shameless ploy to make her move in with me.”

  My mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t!”

  He laughed. “I know that, Commissioner Dowry knows that, everyone who knows me knows that, but any time a chief is deter
mined to have personal involvement with a crime, we have to verify our lack of involvement. Morrison dodged that because he’s a clever asshole—but his game was up the instant he had Janet kidnapped. He forgot when something happens to one of our cops, if any law enforcement officer questions the situation, the chief will be required to undergo angelic verification.”

  “You don’t think he would make it through verification.”

  “I know he wouldn’t. But the accusation involving you overrode his connection to Janet’s kidnapping. Assuming he’s caught, that’ll be carefully scrutinized, but nobody had made the base accusation of his direct involvement. It was on the minds of a lot of people, but he hadn’t been formally accused, and innocent until proven guilty still applies.”

  “Right. But we’re piling up a lot of evidence, though it’s circumstantial right now, isn’t it?”

  “The instant an angel verifies the truth from a victim, that’s that. Angels cannot lie or they fall, and it’s pretty damned obvious when an angel falls. As such, Morrison is already guilty of a felony and will lose his rank. How much more guilt is on his shoulders remains to be seen.”

  “All right. So, what do we do at this place we’re going to today?”

  “We check for evidence, and if it’s there, we contact the CDC. If there’s no evidence, we leave and head for Long Lake at your father’s recommendation. I don’t want to see what Ra will do to protect you, and the last thing we need is a divine breaking one of the universal laws because his daughter can’t stay out of trouble. I expect there will be trouble, but at least it’s sanctioned trouble, and your father can handle that. Surprise trouble that threatens you or your mother? Let’s just say while Egyptian, the consequences of him breaking certain rules would probably help the End of Days come along in a hurry. Divine doesn’t mean infallible, and he’s pretty damned aware he’s missed out on the entirety of your life so far. Anything that might cut your life short? He won’t handle it well.” My husband sighed. “Neither would I.”

  “It would be weird if you did. In other news, I don’t handle threats to you very well, either.”

  “Oh, you handle them just fine. Except you tend to get yourself hurt in the process. And even when you don’t get hurt, you find some way to scare the liver out of me.”

  I frowned. “Where do you think that asshole cadet got that ambrosia from anyway?”

  “That is a very good question, and truth be told? I’m not sure it’s one I want the answer to. The last thing I need is to have to face off against some idiot divine with a dire lack of common sense and ethics. The last I checked, the CDC was investigating to see if they were missing any ambrosia. Morrison has access to one of the CDC vaults, so chances are, he just stole it from there. That is also a felony, and that would become a critical part of the flame game should it be proven to be the case.”

  “Why? Because people don’t tend to like when mere men attempt to become gods, or that there is a high chance of the ambrosia taking him out along with an entire city block out when he goes?”

  “Mostly the general acceptance he would be taken out along with an entire city block. People don’t like when assholes are willing to kill them for the sake of power.”

  “I agree with that. Can we make a plan other than don’t destroy evidence, call people at the appropriate times, make sure our furry prince and princesses are content, and eliminate all threats to our children?”

  “A plan for accomplishing those things would be nice.”

  “Quinn, look at who you’re talking to here. Have I ever made a plan that actually survived to its conclusion?”

  “You did pretty well with those phoenixes, although I would appreciate if you did not do that again. Phoenixes are really bad for my blood pressure. Your plan to run away from home went off pretty well, too. You made it to your destination and acquired what you set out to acquire.”

  “A full night of sleep is vastly underrated, Quinn. However, I would be content enough with maybe only two or three nights of those a week. It turns out I don’t sleep all that well when you’re not around, and that sucked.”

  “I will do my best to make sure your sleeping needs are met.”

  As I could interpret that in one of two ways, I eyed him.

  He smirked.

  Evil, evil, delicious gorgon-incubus doohickey. “You’re a bad, bad man, Sam.”

  “I try.”

  Sixteen

  I need you to zing me, Quinn.

  While I kept a close eye on our pets, Quinn went to the bathroom. Avalanche growled over her scraps of moose meat, minced so she could eat it without any difficulty. Sunny devoured her bones with startling efficiency, and Blizzard spent as much time playing with his bones as he did chewing on them.

  By the time my husband returned, with his smuggest smile in place, I’d been completely bewitched by our animals.

  “They’re so cute,” I informed him, pointing at Sunny. “She is a most fierce huntress of bones. Did we get her enough?”

  He checked under the table. “That’s a good amount for her to have, and we’re getting plenty for the road, so don’t worry. Your puppy won’t starve. I see your other puppy is making a mess.”

  “He’s really good at that. It’s his special power, along with howling complaints should we dawdle and he needs to go out.”

  “He’s surprisingly quiet for a husky and far less opinionated than I believed. The dumpster life must have toned him down.”

  “He’s the perfect dumpster puppy, and he was only a little rabid when I rescued him. I still don’t understand why anyone would dump a puppy like that. If I hadn’t pulled him out of the dumpster, he would have suffocated in that bag.”

  “Before you get too emotional, he is fine, he’s enjoying his bone, he’s quite possibly tied with Sunny for being the perfect puppy, and he’s going to have a great life, because he has you to care for him.”

  I found praise a lot harder to cope with than one of his burns. “I need you to zing me, Quinn.”

  “Was that too much reinforcement of why you’re a good woman?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll think of something appropriate. A good zinger has to be properly set up and deployed for maximum enjoyment. That plus it’s more fun if you’re not expecting it. The shock on your face is almost as delightful as your enjoyment of a good zinger. You’ll survive until the right moment comes.”

  “You’re mean.”

  “Yes, I am so mean. I’m forcing you to practice your coping strategies when someone says something nice to you. I am the cruelest husband.”

  “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

  “Please don’t light my pants on fire. I know I’m tempting, but we’re in a restaurant.”

  I giggled. “I’m not that bad!”

  “Really?”

  “I thought you were waiting to zing me.”

  “That wasn’t a zing. It was a verbal caress and a warm-up for an actual zing, which will happen at a time of my choosing.”

  I loved my evil, evil gorgon-incubus doohickey. “So, about that coffee.”

  My husband showed me his phone, which revealed a text conversation with his angelic grandfather confirming I could enjoy coffee for at least a few more months, although I would be cut off five months into my pregnancy, as nobody needed a hormonal, caffeine-fueled cindercorn taking over or attempting to destroy the world.

  Wow. The Quinn family had it out for me. “I’m going to feel that zinger for a while. That implies if I have any coffee after five months, I will be a world-destroying menace. Or the empress of the planet. Hmm.”

  “We were just talking about how a merged jurisdiction would be too much work,” he reminded me. “You do not want to be responsible for the entire planet.”

  Right. “Okay, no coffee after five months, then. But if my spiced grass supply is limited, there will be severe problems.”

  “I’m sure we’ll be able to take care of your special needs. When we hit the road, I want you to
start phase one of the flame game while I drive. Build a document detailing everything the asshole has done, things we suspect he’s done, and start organizing it in a coherent fashion. We’ll turn that into strategic press releases and commentary one of our attorneys will use to sway the public in court. Skipping on bail means there will be a trial, he won’t be in attendance, although he will have a public defender, and it will be open for the public so the judge can hear all of the accusations and determine how to proceed. That trial will exist because Morrison is a police chief being accused—and already determined guilty—of a felony. We can do this because of my grandfather and your willingness to go through angelic verification.”

  “We can burn him fairly hard right out of the gate, then.”

  “Right. My grandfather will testify during this to confirm his guilt, as due process does need to be maintained to a certain degree. This is our chance to layer on a lot of charges and help burn him in the eyes of the public.”

  “What about Morrison’s son? Won’t he go under fire if he’s discovered?”

  “We’ll have to work to prevent that. Ideally, we’ll be able to get a hold of him and put him into protective custody with a strong hive—and reunite him with his mother.”

  “That poor woman.”

  “She’ll be okay. Saven is a lot of things, but he has a surprisingly strong sense of justice. It’s part of why he hasn’t been taken out yet. It’s hard to break the cycle when the victims walk away better for it. Yes, he commits crimes, yes, he’s definitely a criminal, but the victims often get life-saving treatments they couldn’t afford before becoming involved with his brood and their sex demons. He chooses his victims with care. It helps he also harshly deals with the criminals who step across the wrong line. If he keeps acting like that, I expect most law enforcement entities will continue to ignore him. The replacement would probably be far worse. And in some cases, he ultimately helps law enforcement.”